By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - A series of blasts at a Tanzania military munitions dump killed at least 20 people late on Wednesday, flattening neighbouring buildings and sending thousands of local residents fleeing in panic.
Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told parliament on Thursday that 4,000 people had sought shelter at the national stadium in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, where the blasts occurred.
"The death toll might rise when we ascertain the full extent of the damage caused by the explosions," Pinda said in a statement to parliament.
Reuters television footage showed badly wounded victims -- one child bled from facial injuries and another had shrapnel protruding from his lower back. Several others were rushed to local hospitals having suffered broken bones or severed limbs.
Defence Minister Hussein Mwinyi told Reuters the explosions had stopped but officials had yet to determine the cause.
Some 23 munitions depots, a secondary school and two houses were razed in the chain of explosions at the Gongo la Mboto military base in Ilala district.
The blasts forced the closure of the main Dar es Salaam International Airport, which is nearby. As a precaution the airport in the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar was also temporarily shut overnight. Aviation officials said there was no damage reported at either airport.
The blasts scattered debris across densely populated neighbourhoods several kilometres (miles) from the military base.
"My neighbour's house was struck by debris from a rocket propelled grenade. Luckily, no one was injured because we were told to evacuate our homes," said Hassan Kondo, a resident of the Kivule area on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam.
"We urge members of the public to be careful not to touch any debris or unexploded bombs at their areas. Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Shimbo, chief of staff of Tanzania's armed forces, told reporters.
"We have sent out teams to carefully retrieve these explosives," he said.
A similar explosion in 2009 at another military base in Dar es Salaam killed at least 26 people and wounded more than 700.
(Additional reporting by Wangui Kanina in Nairobi; Editing by George Obulutsa and Jon Boyle)
